Alternate Reality: Eyes and Stone
by Celeste5502
Summary: When a jewel creator summons up the evil Medusa, her actions lead to the capture of Joey-but thanks to a new spell, the calamity could be turned into a gift for both him and his sister...Please R&R!
1. Prologue: Summoned for a Prize

Prologue: Summoned for a Prize

Nighttime had fallen over Domino again. A full moon was shining brightly over the city, giving the darkened skyscrapers a mystical glow which made it appear to be the perfect place for a little magic and mystery to occur.

And at that moment, actually, a young woman standing at the top of one of those buildings was planning on using some magic for her own purposes.

The woman's name was Meg. She had flowing hair which was the color of amber, deep sapphire eyes, and ruby red lips. At the moment, she was wearing a flowing emerald green dress, an onyx cloak, and onyx high heels to match. Necklaces and bracelets of diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and many other gems adorned her wrists and neck.

In front of Meg, a chalk drawing had been made on the roof of a snake which had curled up into a circle and put its tail into its mouth. Surrounding the snake drawing was another circle of lit candles.

"Perfect," Meg grinned. "Everything is set."

She pulled a dog-eared piece of paper out of her cloak. Meg read the paper for a few minutes, then nodded and returned it to the cloak. She rose her hands up and looked into the starry sky. She chanted in a deep, melodramatic voice:

_I call upon the creature formerly of golden hair,_

_Cursed for making out in a temple, she did dare,_

_Now a femme fatale with locks of snakes and turner to stone_

_You shall do my bidding, for now you're a creature of my own!_

The snake drawing started to glow with a bright, white light. The light shot up and formed a tall dome which spun around in its place. The flames of the candles flared out towards the dome and turned from orange to an eerie green.

Meg hurriedly pulled out a pair of dark sunglasses and put them on. "Wouldn't wanna get turned to stone by my own servant, now would I?"

The dome stopped spinning. Slowly, the candles' flames returned to their normal size and color, and the light retreated back into the ground, revealing that a woman now stood in the center of the snake drawing. While her skin was a pretty pale cream and she wore a vivacious red evening gown, her beauty was ruined by the fact that she had long, green snakes with sharp fangs coming out of where her hair should have been.

The woman kneeled down before Meg and hissed out, "How may I serve you, mistress?"

Meg sighed. "Well, my dear Medusa…" She walked around the woman and picked up one of the candles from the circle. She blew out the flame and closed her eyes. The candle glowed with a strange light for a second, then transformed into a candle made of pure gold. "I've grown tired of simply using my power to transform so many rocks and such into so many beautiful jewels for me." She delicately touched one of her diamond necklaces. "I'm ready to claim some other, much more valuable prizes for myself, but unfortunately… my power is limited to transforming inanimate objects."

She turned back to Medusa, who had gotten up and now faced her new master. "That, my dear, is where you come in. I need you to turn a couple of humans into inanimate objects with that stone-transforming power of yours. You can do that easily, can't you?"

Medusa bowed. "Absolutely, mistress. Did you have any particular humans in mind?"

Meg grinned evilly. "I've been watching these teens with certain, shall we say, gifts for the past couple of days. I believe they'll make absolutely _wonderful_ trophies for a jewel lover such as me…"


	2. Chapter One: Released

Chapter One: Released

The next day, a little bit before Domino High school started classes, the four defenders Yugi, Tristan, Téa, and Bakura crowded around a desk in the back corner. The sixth defender Kaiba sat at another desk not close enough so that they could be associated with each other, but not far enough so that he couldn't hear what they were saying.

"Okay, so for almost a week now, we haven't had to deal with any evil villains, weird creatures, insane psychopaths, or any other freak that's going around and using their 'gifts' as much as they please," Tristan whispered. "You know what that means…pretty soon somebody's gonna hafta come and attack."

"Gee, that's a wonderful thought," Téa said sarcastically.

"Well, on the bright side, at least these bad guys pretty predictable," Yugi commented. "I doubt they could surprise us when we know that they run like clockwork."

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Don't be so sure about that," he muttered.

Just then, Joey Wheeler came into the classroom. "Hi, guys," he said to his friends in an extremely cheery voice.

The others stared at him. "Did Joey Wheeler just come into the classroom and not start moaning and groaning about being in boring ol' school?" Tristan said with faked awe in his voice. "Maybe we should take cover, everyone; I think the apocalypse is coming."

Joey rolled his eyes. "Har har, Tristan, but for your information, I have a really good reason ta be dis happy," he said. "Ya know how I've been pretty busy after school all dis week? It's 'cause my sister came inta town ta have dat operation on her eyesight dis weekend, and I've been visitin' her all week. An dis afternoon, she's finally gonna be released from de hospital! We're gonna go out ta some special place ta celebrate, an she's gonna take her bandages off, and she'll finally have her sight back!"

"That's great, Joey!" Yugi said.

"Yeah, that is pretty sweet," Tristan agreed. "But I gotta ask you something: all this week I was tryin' to visit Serenity at the hospital, but for some reason, whenever I tried to go, I'd get some new chore to do, or my motorcycle would break down, or I'd even get caught in traffic." Tristan put one arm around Joey's neck, coming close to putting him in a chokehold. "It's almost like some sort of magic force was preventing me from ever getting there. Funny thing, isn't it?" He glared at Joey.

Joey smiled sweetly at him. "Yeah, man, really funny."

"Yeah, well, you know what else is going to be funny?" Tristan said. "When you're going to have to leave Serenity at the restaurant because you have to go off and save the world from some sort of evil psycho-freak."

"Dat won't happen," Joey said. He paused. "Will it?"

"It might," Bakura replied. "We haven't had to deal with any sort of evil villains for a little while, so it might be time for another attack."

"What?!" Joey cried. "Dat can't happen! I can't just leave my sister alone out dere all bandaged up and blind in some place in town! Dat'd be sick an wrong!"

He sat down in the desk in front of the one the others were around and heaved a huge sigh. He remained deep in thought for a few moments, then looked at his friends and asked, "Guys, I really hate ta ask someting like dis, but…"

Yugi smiled. "Don't worry, Joey. You can stay out of the next attack if it comes tonight."

"Yeah, we understand. Stay with your sister if she really needs you," Téa assured him.

"Aaand, if by chance the evil villain comes along and tries to attack you and Serenity," Tristan said, putting his arm around Joey's neck again, "we might even be able to come to you and protect her while you're saving the world."

Joey narrowed his eyes. "Don't get some idea about doin' more dan just protectin', mister," he snarled.

"What? Is it really going to be so wrong if I try to comfort her and make her feel better while you're away?" Tristan asked sweetly. "It's only the best thing to do so that she won't feel so alone."

Joey growled. "Guess what, Tristan, I've got good news for ya," he said. Without warning, he suddenly grabbed Tristan's arm. "You might be able ta go ta de hospital after all!"

And pretty soon, the two of them were once again all twisted up in a nasty brawl.


	3. Chapter Two: Brother and Sister

Chapter Two: Brother and Sister

Once school was over, Joey immediately dashed over to his apartment. He threw off his school uniform's blue jacket and put on a green one in its place. Then, he rushed back out of his apartment and made like a madman all the way over to the hospital.

When he finally arrived, he took a quick break outside of the hospital doors to catch his breath. He then entered and, trying to look absolutely casual, walked down to his sister's room.

He knocked on the door. "Serenity?" he called inside.

"It's okay, Joey, you can come in," a sweet female voice replied from within.

Joey opened the door. Inside, a young girl sat on the side of the bed waiting for him. She had long, reddish hair and wore a pink shirt with yellow sleeves, jeans shorts, and grey and white sneakers. Wrapped around her head and covering her brown eyes were white bandages.

"Hey, sis," Joey said, walking over to the bed and sitting down beside her. "How're your eyes feeling today?"

"They feel just fine, Joey," Serenity smiled. "But it wouldn't matter if they hurt-I know that they'll turn out all right in the end." She wrapped her arms around her brother. "Thank you for giving me the money for the operation. I know it must have been hard to just give up three million yen."

"Hey, believe me, sis," Joey smiled, stroking her head. "I'd have given up ten million yen easily if it was all goin' towards you." He took her hand. "So, yah ready ta go?"

Serenity nodded. She stood up and, led by her brother, walked out of her hospital room.

As the two walked down the hallway, Serenity turned her head towards her brother and asked, "Joey, you seem a little tense today. Is everything okay?"

"Hmm?" Joey said. "Oh, uh, yeah. Everyting's fine, don't worry, sis."

_Joey, c'mon, don't be so nervous,_ he thought to himself. _You know dat notin's gonna happen tonight, an even if it did, de odders will be able ta handle it. You just focus on your sister right now._

"So where are we going now?" Serenity asked as the two walked out the hospital doors.

"I tought dat we'd go ta dis one nice place downtown," Joey replied. "Dey've got good food, good service-and a sweet dessert selection."

"Will you be able to afford it?" Serenity asked worriedly.

"Ey, didn't I just tell you dat I'd give up anyting for yo-" He suddenly stopped.

Right in front of Joey and Serenity, peering out from the side of a car, was the front part of a green snake that bared its fangs out at the two. It let out a small _hiss_.

"Joey? What's that noise?" Serenity asked, her head moving towards the direction of the noise.

"Uh, it's just somebody leakin' a liddle bit of air outta deir tires, dat's all." Joey guided Serenity through the opposite row of cars. "C'mon, let's leave dem alone." He started leading her down the parking lot again.

* * *

The green snake slowly recoiled itself backwards and up into Medusa's head. She sat crouched between two cars, wearing her master's onyx cloak and another pair of sunglasses to hide her head of snakes and her stone-turning eyes.

Medusa peered around the cars and watched closely as the blond hero guided a petit redhead wearing white bandages over her eyes down the next aisle. Smiling, she got up from her hiding place and started to follow the two of them.

* * *

"Ooh, Joey, this stuff is delicious!" Serenity grinned, taking a last bite out of some strawberry shortcake. She and Joey sat at a small umbrella-covered table outside of the restaurant. While Joey had gotten almost every dessert imaginable on the menu all for his sister, she'd insisted that she only needed to eat one or two things. She knew her brother had a huge appetite, and thus was happy rather than disgusted to hear him gobbling down various items.

"Glad dat ya like it, sis," Joey replied in between bites.

"So, Joey," Serenity said, pushing her empty plate a little bit away, "have you been up to anything exciting lately?"

Joey stopped, his mouth open and his spoon dripping with ice cream only inches away from it. "Uh…" he said. _Well, my friends and I were just made inta de new guardians of dis dimension, we've been fightin' off evil kings an queens an deir henchmen, nasty sea creatures, an a couple a odder baddies, an, oh yeah-I'm a green-sparks shootin' shape-shifter. _"Nope, notin' much, really. Just school, hangin' out wit my friends-stuff like dat." He quickly shoved the spoonful of ice cream into his mouth.

"Oh," Serenity replied. For some reason, she got the feeling that her brother wasn't telling her everything…

"An how about you, sis?" Joey asked once he'd swallowed the ice cream. "Anyting exciting happen ta you an mom before ya came he-?" He suddenly stopped.

He heard the sound of a distinct _hiss_ coming from behind him. He turned around and saw that the same green snake was peering around the side of a building and baring its fangs at them.

"Joey?" Serenity asked. "Am I imagining things, or do I hear that hissing noise again?"

"Uh, no, you're not imagining tings, sis," Joey said. He got up from his seat and walked around the table. He took his sister's hand and said, "C'mon, we should get outta here."

"Why? What's wrong, Joey?" Serenity asked as she stood up.

"Notin' dat we can't just walk away from, Serenity," Joey replied, quickly guiding her away from the table.

* * *

The snake once again recoiled backwards from the corner of the building. A few moments later, Medusa peered around the corner to see that the blond was once again guiding the red head away. She snarled and vanished back around the corner.

"Awright, den, here we are, sis," Joey said. He'd guided his sister downtown towards the plaza. Nighttime had fallen over the town, and now in the darkness, the glitter of the lights from the store windows and streetlights and the shine on the golden town clock from the nearly full moon up above made the place look absolutely enchanting.

"Where are we, Joey?" Serenity asked, turning her head side to side at the sounds of the town clock chiming the hour and the footsteps of various shoppers coming in and out of the stores.

"You'll see soon, sis," Joey said. "I just tought dat dis would be a good place for ya to finally take off your bandages and see de world clearly again."

"Oh!" Serenity grinned. "You're sure?"

Joey nodded. "I'm positive, Serenity."

"Okay." She reached her hands up towards the white bandages.

Suddenly, Joey heard another _hiss _right behind them. He whipped around to see that the green snake had reappeared, this time peering out at them from around the corner of another building with its golden eyes glittering in the light.

"Joey," Serenity cried, putting her hands down and turning towards the noise, "what is that?"

Angrily, he took his sister's hand and said, "It's goin' ta end right now!"

He started charging angrily towards the snake, with a shocked Serenity being tugged behind him. The snake vanished back around the building corner.

Joey looked around the corner and saw that the snake was now peering out at them from the entrance to an alleyway. It appeared to give a nasty grin while it bared its fangs at the two, then slithered backwards into the alley.

"Stay behind me, Serenity," Joey said as he walked towards the alleyway.

"Joey, what's going on?" Serenity asked, very confused.

Joey peered down the alley and saw that a figure illuminated by the moonlight stood near the end of it. The figure was clad in a black cloak, and much to Joey's shock, the snake was peering out from underneath the hood of the cloak.

Joey walked down the alley towards the figure, keeping his sister behind him. He angrily called out to the person, "Awright, who de heck are you?"

The person reached up and pulled their hood off from over their head. Joey recoiled back in horror.

Many of the same green snakes had been hiding underneath the hood of the cloak-and all of them were piled on top of the strange figure's head, now staring at him and giving him loud hisses. She had pale cream skin and wore dark sunglasses over her eyes.

"Joey? What is that?" Serenity cried out at the sound of the hissing.

The woman slowly reached up and pulled her sunglasses off of her face, keeping her eyes shut. She then snapped them wide open.

Joey stared at her golden eyes. He felt himself suddenly freeze inside.

"Joey?" Serenity asked, feeling his hand turn stiff.

"Ser-en-ity…" Joey barely managed to get out from his nearly frozen mouth. "Run…"

His entire body then transformed into pale grey stone. Serenity jumped back as she felt her brother's hand change from flesh and blood into pure rock.

Serenity turned around and started feeling her way back down the alley, away from her statuesque brother and the Medusa creature.

* * *

Once Serenity had left, a glowing portal suddenly appeared at the end of the alleyway right behind Medusa. Meg stepped out of the light, her sunglasses still perched on her nose. "Well, my dear Medusa?" she said.

Medusa stepped aside and allowed for Meg to see the stone statue that had been Joey Wheeler.

Meg clapped her hands together with delight. "Excellent job!" she said. She walked over to the statue and, with surprising strength, picked it up and placed it under her arm. "Now, then, let's get home and start making this look much, much more beautiful."

Both Meg and Medusa stepped through the glowing portal, which vanished as soon as they went inside.


	4. Chapter Three: Guiding Hand

Chapter Three: Guiding Hand

Serenity was slowly walking down the street, feeling her way along the store windows and trying hard to listen for footsteps or any other signs of life.

_What happened to Joey?_ she thought worriedly to herself. _It felt like he just transformed into stone…oh, I hope he'll be okay._

Suddenly, she felt her foot step off of the sidewalk. From right in front of her, she heard the sound of a car pass by and knew that she was about to step into the street. Serenity pulled back and cried to herself, "Oh, no…what do I do now…"

She then felt a hand place itself into hers. Serenity let out a small shriek.

_Shhh…_Serenity heard a voice seemingly coming from inside of her head. _Don't worry, Miss Serenity, everything's okay. _

"Who are you?" she asked.

_I'm someone your brother knows well. I also know of some people who can help him out. Come; let me guide you towards them._

Cautiously, Serenity let the hand start pulling her across the street. She was shaking with fright all the way, but when she finally felt her feet step back down onto a sidewalk, she relaxed a little and let the hand continue to lead her.

After walking down various sidewalks and across many streets, the voice spoke to her again. _Okay, my dear, we're here._ The hand lifted hers up and placed it onto what felt like a glass door to a shop. _You just go inside; they'll come out once you call them. _

Serenity nodded. "Okay. Thank you, whoever you are," she said.

_Wait a moment,_ the voice said. _There's one last thing._

She suddenly felt two hands place themselves onto the bandages, right over her eyes. A strange, warm sensation suddenly passed through her for one moment. _There, that's done._

"What is?" Serenity asked.

_You'll see soon. For now, though, you just go inside. And when they prepare to leave, insist that you go with them. You'll need the practice._

"Practice? For what?"

There was no reply. Apparently the person, whoever they were, had gone away.

* * *

Serenity pushed the glass door open and stepped inside. "Um…hello?" she called out.

Inside the living room, Yugi, Tristan, Téa, and Bakura had been sitting around watching a movie on T.V. when they suddenly heard a voice coming from the Game Shop. Tristan had been lying on the floor, but now he quickly jumped to his feet and ran out of the room, crying out, "I know that voice!"

He and the others dashed into the Game Shop and were shocked to discover a still bandaged Serenity standing at the entrance.

"Serenity?" Tristan cried out.

Serenity looked in the direction of the voice and asked, "Who's there?"

Tristan grinned and immediately dashed over to Serenity's side, with the others coming behind him. He gently tapped her shoulder and she looked in that direction. "I'm a friend of your brother, Serenity. Tristan's the name." He shook her hand. "So, where exactly is Joey?"

Serenity glanced down at the ground. "I don't know…" she murmured.

Everyone stared. Yugi asked, "What? What happened?"

"Well, Joey and I were walking around the town, and I kept hearing this hissing noise…Joey wouldn't tell me what it was…then when we finally heard it the third time, Joey led me towards the noise, and then…" She paused. "I don't know if I should tell you what happened next…you might not believe me…"

The others got 'oh no' looks on their faces. They knew what that meant: more magical insanity. Téa gently took Serenity's hand and said, "Don't worry, Serenity, you can tell us. It's okay."

"Well…I heard even more of the hissing noises, and then…I…I felt Joey's hand turn into…well…it was like stone!"

The others were shocked. "Oh my…" Bakura whispered.

Yugi's Millennium Puzzle glowed, and the Pharaoh took over for him. He turned to Téa and said, "Téa, do you have the _Guide_ with you?"

She nodded. "It's in my purse, I'll go get it." As she ran out of the shop, she called back over her shoulder, "What should I look for?"

"Anything that has to do with hissing and stone," he replied. He turned back to Serenity and said, "Don't worry, Serenity, we'll go and find your brother. In the meantime, why don't you come sit down and wait for us while we go find your brother?"

"Um…" Serenity paused. "Actually…right after I felt Joey transform, somebody came and led me all the way over here. They… told me that I had to come with you guys."

Everyone stared at her. "Who exactly was this person?" the Pharaoh asked.

"I honestly don't know…but it was strange…it sounded like their voice was coming from inside my head…and when they touched my bandages, I felt some sort of warmth pass through me…"

"Oh!" the Pharaoh said, realization dawning in his eyes. _The ones who gave us our powers gave her some too? Interesting… _"Well, in that case, perhaps we shall bring you along."

"And don't worry," Tristan assured Serenity, "we'll protect you from whatever nasty creature took Joey away."

"Medusa." Téa walked back into the game shop with the _Guide_ open in her hands. She turned the book so that the guys could see a picture of a woman with pale skin, yellow eyes, and green snakes for hair wearing a flowing red gown. Surrounding her were various stone statues of screaming, terrified-looking people. "A creature from Greek mythology who was once a beautiful young woman that got transformed into a snake-haired beast as punishment for making out with a god in the temple of a goddess. Has the power to transform anyone who looks into her eyes into stone statues and to send her snakes out at anyone who dares to attack her."

"Joey really was turned to stone?!" Serenity cried out.

"Don't worry, Serenity," Tristan said, patting her on the back reassuringly, "we'll be able to change him back." He looked up and mouthed to Téa: "Right?"

She rolled her eyes and mouthed back, "Right." She pointed at the book. "There's a spell here for reversing the effects of her eyes, aside from destroying her altogether. And there's also one which could bring us right to her."

"One moment," the Pharaoh said. He snapped his fingers and a pair of sunglasses appeared in his hands. "We should protect ourselves from her power."

The others nodded and also zapped up dark sunglasses which they put on immediately. Then Téa rose up her hand and started chanting in a strange, ancient language. Her hand glowed with a soft, pink light.

A glowing portal appeared behind Serenity. Tristan took her hand and said, "C'mon, Serenity, this way. Watch your step." He gently guided her in through the portal, followed quickly by the others. Once they were through, the portal vanished behind them.


	5. Chapter Four: The Jeweled Room

Chapter Four: The Jeweled Room

Meg was standing in what had once been a large, completely abandoned and empty factory. Now, while the outside still looked rather shabby, the inside of the place had been transformed into a jeweled palace. The walls were made of gold, the floor was silver, and the ceiling had been transformed into thousands of tiny, sparkling diamonds. All over the place, various pieces of gorgeous jewelry had been hung on golden nails hammered into the walls, and large, glittering stones sat on amber tables. In the center of the room was Meg's self-created throne of gold with red seat cushions. The only items which imposed on the beauty were the shattered windows that let some light into the place.

At this moment, Meg was placing her own finishing touches on her brand-new prize which she'd placed onto a silver platform she'd created. Already she'd transformed pieces of Joey's completely stone body into shiny gems and metals; his hair had been turned to gold, his jacket to emeralds, his shirt to diamonds, his jeans to sapphires, and his shoes to onyx and silver. Now she delicately touched his eyes, and they transformed into black opals. "There! Perfect!" she cried. She moved away from the statue and showed it off to Medusa, who'd put sunglasses on so that she wouldn't turn herself to stone by glancing in the reflection of the gems and metals around her. "Isn't it wonderful, my dear creature?"

"Beautiful, mistress," Medusa nodded.

"Now, then," Meg said, stepping down from the platform, "one down, a few more to go."

At that moment, a glowing white portal suddenly appeared at the entrance to the factory. Meg and Medusa turned to see the Pharaoh, Tristan, Téa, and Bakura step through, with Serenity being guided along by Tristan's hand.

"Oh! Well, isn't this wonderful!" Meg cried, clapping her hands together. "My other future jeweled statues have just come right to me!"

"Sorry, miss," the Pharaoh said, glaring at her from behind his dark glasses, "but we don't intend to become a part of your collection."

"Where are we?" Serenity asked. "Is Joey here?"

Just then, Téa caught a glimpse of Joey on top of the platform. She gasped at the sight of his stony and jeweled self. She looked back and saw that Serenity was reaching up to take off her bandages.

"Serenity, wait!" Téa said. She froze. "Don't take your bandages off yet, okay?"

Serenity complied and placed her hands back down by her sides.

_She can't see Joey now,_ Téa thought. _Not when he's like that…_

"Medusa," Meg said, turning back to her new servant, "do whatever you can to turn them to stone."

"Yes, mistress," Medusa nodded. She turned and faced the teens directly. "Attack, my pretties."

The snakes all turned and glared with their golden eyes at the defenders. They then started growing out of Medusa's head and hurling themselves towards them, their fangs bared out.

"Look out!" the Pharaoh cried, soaring up into the air. The others soared up as well, with Tristan holding on tight to Serenity as he did so. She was shocked to suddenly feel herself rising up into the air, but she went along with it at the moment.

The snakes followed them upwards, going up higher and higher and getting closer and closer to the teens. They attempted to soar off in various directions and all over the jeweled palace to avoid the snakes, but they just kept coming at them.

When all five had gotten back together in a group and the snakes were closing in on them, the Pharaoh sent out a beam of blue magic which struck some of the snakes directly and made them recoil back into Medusa's head, knocked out cold.

Taking cue from him, Tristan and Bakura also fired out beams of orange and grey magic at more of the snakes. Finally, Téa let out a huge banshee shriek which gave such a huge, powerful vibration to the other snakes that all but one went backwards and recoiled into Medusa's head, shaking with horrific fright.

Serenity was completely baffled. _What are those crashes I keep hearing? And what was that loud scream?_

"All right!" Tristan said, pumping one fist into the air.

"What happened?" Serenity asked, turning her head up at him.

"Well, Serenity," Tristan replied. "Those snakes that just tried to attack us have gone do-"

Suddenly, the remaining snake reached up and grabbed Tristan's sunglasses right off of his face. It then whipped itself around and knocked the sunglasses right off of the others' faces, forcing them to wince.

Medusa grinned nastily. Her conscious snakes extended themselves down onto the ground and pushed their mistress up to eye level with the heroes. She ripped her sunglasses off of her face and, when the heroes opened their eyes, stared directly at them with her golden ones.

All four of the heroes suddenly froze in the air. Serenity felt Tristan stiffening up just like Joey had done. She gasped out in horror when she realized what was happening. "Oh no!" she cried out.

The four heroes transformed into pure stone. Medusa sent out more of her snakes to wrap themselves around the statues and gently set them down onto the ground.

Once Serenity felt her feet touch the floor, she pulled herself out of Tristan's stony arms. She tried to run away, but she suddenly felt something scaly wrap itself around her arm and hold her back.

"Ooh, they're so wonderful!" Meg cooed, walking over to the four new statues. "They don't quite look so heroic in those poses, but no matter…I'll improve them by turning them into jewels."

She then looked over at Serenity, who was prevented from escaping by one of Medusa's snakes wrapped around her arm. "What should we do with this one, mistress?" Medusa asked, keeping her gaze focused on Serenity.

"Ah, just turn her into stone, too," Meg replied. "The more statues the merrier for me."

"Yes, mistress," Medusa replied. Another one of her snakes extended out and wrapped itself around Serenity's other arm, holding her firmly in her place. She then walked towards Serenity, grinning nastily and letting her gold eyes glitter.

"You can't hide your eyes behind those bandages forever, missy," Medusa hissed out. Another snake reached out, grabbed the bandages, and ripped them right off of Serenity's face. Serenity, however, had winced her eyes shut.

"Now, now, don't be stubborn, little girl," Meg said. "Just accept the fact that you're turning to stone just like your brother and his not-quite-heroic friends…" She grinned nastily. "…and there's nothing you can do about it."

A tear rolled down Serenity's face. Finally, she screamed out, "NO!"

She opened her eyes-and red-hot laser beams shot right out of them, hitting Medusa directly in the eyes. Medusa and her snakes screamed out in horror as the beams seared throughout her entire body, making her glow with red light, and she transformed into ashes which collapsed down onto the ground in a heap.


	6. Chapter Five: Turn to Stone

Chapter Five: Turn to Stone

Serenity's eyes returned to their normal brown state. She stared down at the pile of ashes in absolute shock. "Did I just do that?" she whispered.

With Medusa gone, the four stony heroes transformed back into flesh and blood human beings. They stared down at themselves in shock.

"Uh, how did this happen?" Tristan asked, flexing his formerly frozen fingers.

"Medusa must have been destroyed, but who…" The Pharaoh paused. He stared down at the pile of ashes, which he guessed to have been Medusa, then at Serenity, whose bandages had been removed and who now stared down at the ashes in shock. Stunned, he asked, "Serenity, did you do that?"

She looked over at the four heroes. "Uh…yes…I think…" She was clearly shell-shocked. Then she looked behind them and cried out, "Wait…what about him?"

The others turned around to see that Joey hadn't been unfrozen. He was still a statuesque being made of jewels, metals, and stone. "He's made of more than just stone now…" Bakura said. "Maybe he can't just transform back…"

"But how is he going to turn back, then?" Téa asked.

Suddenly, Serenity's eyes glowed again, this time with a green light. "Oh!" she cried out.

Everyone turned and stared at her green glowing eyes. "What is that?" Tristan asked her.

"I…I'm not quite sure, but…it's like I can see right through everything…even Joey…"

"What do you see inside of him?" the Pharaoh asked.

"Some sort of green, glowing sparks…and it looks like it's trying to get rid of the jewels and stuff, but…it's not quite working…I don't think it's strong enough."

The Pharaoh looked around at his friends. "Perhaps we should add our magical strength to it as well."

"Magical strength?" Serenity repeated, her confused eyes returning to a normal state.

The other four glanced back at her, realizing that she had no idea that they had magical abilities. "Can we trust her with our secret?" Téa whispered to the others.

"I believe that we can," the Pharaoh whispered back. "Especially since those three beings apparently gave her powers of her own."

The others nodded in agreement. Tristan turned to Serenity and said, "Yeah, magical strength. We all have these…special powers which we got just like you did. Watch, we'll use them to save your brother."

"Oh no you won't!" Meg dashed towards them, but the Pharaoh held up one hand and trapped her within a spherical force field.

The four heroes walked towards Joey and got up onto the platform. The Pharaoh and Tristan took one of Joey's arms, while Téa and Bakura took the other. All four of them closed their eyes.

Serenity watched in awe as the four of them glowed with various shades of light. The light spread down and out of their fingers and into the stone statue.

Slowly, a green glow formed around the statue of Joey. Right before Serenity's eyes, the gems, metals, and stones appeared to absorb themselves into him, with his actual flesh, hair, and clothing reappearing from below them.

Finally, once all of the stone and metal had vanished, Joey blinked his eyes. He looked around at his friends. "Guys?" he said. "What de heck hap-" His gaze suddenly fell onto Serenity. "Serenity!" he cried out, stunned to see her there and without her bandages on.

"Joey!" Serenity cried with relief. She dashed over to her brother, jumped up onto the platform and hugged him close. The others let go of Joey so that he could embrace her back.

"You can see, sis?" Joey said with delight.

She looked up at him, tears flooding her eyes. "Yes, I can…and much more, actually."

Joey blinked. "Much more?"

"Mmm-hmm." She nodded. "I've got special abilities, just like you."

Joey blushed. "Oh…you found dat out?" he said sheepishly

"Yeah, but it's okay; I can understand why you didn't tell me before." She smiled. "But you won't have to hide them anymore from me. Your secret is safe, big brother."

"Thanks, sis," Joey grinned.

Suddenly, a sound like glass shattering resounded throughout the room. Everyone looked to see that the force field surrounding Meg had been shattered, with a larger orb made entirely of diamonds in its place. The orb broke into thousands of smaller jewels which clattered to the ground, revealing Meg standing in the center of them. She glared at them nastily. "You think you're so great, you little brats?" she spat out. "Well, let's see you deal with this!"

She rose up her hands and the various diamonds lifted up into the air with them. The diamonds rearranged themselves into sharp daggers which Meg flung at them.

Serenity's eyes suddenly glowed with a blue light. The diamond daggers glowed blue as well and froze in midair, only inches away from the teens.

"WHAT?!" Meg screamed out.

Serenity grinned and lowered her head. The diamond daggers turned their blades towards the ground and, quick as lightning, stabbed down into the silver.

Meg tried to raise them back up in an intact state, but they held fast. Finally, she gave up and snapped her fingers. The daggers shattered back into thousands of tiny diamonds.

"Serenity, dat was great!" Joey cried.

"Yeah, that was excellent," Tristan agreed. He patted her on the back.

Joey gave him a nasty glare, his eyes emitting a green glow. "Hands off my sister, bub," he muttered.

Meg rose her hands up again. The diamonds transformed into huge orbs with spikes sticking out of them. Tristan reached out to take Serenity's hand, but Joey slapped his away and placed one arm around Serenity. "Hold on tight, sis," he said.

Meg flung the orbs out at the teens. All of them quickly soared up into the air. Meg used her hands to start guiding the orbs around after them.

* * *

The Pharaoh looked back after him and saw that the orbs were in hot pursuit. He looked down and, seeing that Meg was guiding the orbs, smiled and shut his eyes.

He suddenly vanished.

Meg stared at the empty space where he had been. "What the-where'd he go?" she cried. The orbs which had been following the Pharaoh froze along with her.

Suddenly, blue beams of magic appeared out of nowhere and blasted the spiked orbs into nothingness. The Pharaoh then reappeared from where the beams had come from and waved to her merrily.

* * *

Téa took a quick glance behind her to see the spiked orbs approaching. She looked back ahead of her and counted down to herself, "Three…two…"

Finally she screamed, "ONE!"

She whipped around and let out an earth-shattering banshee shriek. The diamond orbs shattered into itty-bitty pieces which were of no use to Meg's power.

* * *

Tristan was soaring around, trying to dodge the spiked orbs, when he saw Bakura in the same predicament. The two caught each other's eyes and nodded.

Tristan and Bakura soared towards each other, with the spiked orbs still hot on their tail. Then, when they were only inches from crashing, the two soared upwards.

The diamond orbs smashed into each other, shattering into large pieces. The two heroes then shot out rays of orange and grey magic which blasted the rest of the orbs into pieces.

* * *

Joey and Serenity, meanwhile, were having trouble shaking off their pursuing orbs. With their orbs being the last ones, Meg was free to do more than just send them out after the teens.

Grinning, she lifted up her hand and sent one of the orbs zooming directly into Joey's foot.

"Ouch!" he screamed out as the spike pierced through him. The distraction made him forget to fly and sent him down onto the ground.

Meg sent the other orbs downwards, these ones aimed directly at Joey's back. "Joey, look out!" Serenity cried, looking over his shoulder.

Joey saw the spiked orbs shooting towards them and pulled his sister close to his chest. He winced his eyes shut and braced himself for the spikes' impact.

Suddenly, he felt a strange sensation shoot through his back. He then felt the spikes poke into it, but instead of going through, they crumbled up against it into pieces.

Joey opened his eyes, looking very confused. He glanced at his back-and did a double take.

The entirety of his back had transformed into pure diamond.

"What-de-" he choked out. He delicately reached up and touched the diamonds, making sure that they were, in fact, an actual part of him.

"HEY! HOW'D YOU DO THAT?!" Meg cried out in anger and shock. "I'M THE ONLY JEWEL MASTER AROUND HERE!" She raised her hand up again and reformed the diamonds into spiked orbs.

Joey stood up and said, "Stay behind me, Serenity." He shut his eyes and focused.

His entire body transformed into pure, shiny diamond. He stared down at himself. "Whoa," he breathed out.

The spiked orbs shot out towards him again, but they merely shattered into pieces against his diamond body. He grinned, raised up one hand, and shot out green beams which completely destroyed the remaining diamonds.

"Joey, how the heck did you do that?" Tristan asked, staring at Joey in awe.

"I think perhaps that's what happened to the gems Joey had been transformed into," the Pharaoh said. "The magic absorbed them into him and made them a part of his special ability."

"My special ability got upgraded?" Joey cried. "Sweet!"

"Hey, mister," Meg snarled out. "Diamonds are supposed to be a girl's best friend." She rose up her hands again. The various pieces of jewelry and gem stones soared up off of their nails and tables and all the way up to their master. She grinned and said, "And at the moment, they and a bunch of other gems are about to be your worst nightmare."

She flung her hands out towards Joey, and the gems all shot towards him.

Joey looked down at the silver ground. "Hmm…" He shut his eyes.

His diamond body suddenly transformed into pure silver which splashed down like liquid onto the ground and blended into it perfectly. The various gem stones smashed into each other, some merely dropping onto the ground, and others being crushed by stones harder than them.

Meg looked around at the ground. "Wha-where the heck is he?" she cried out. Finally, after being unable to locate him, she rose up her hands and said, "All right then-I guess I'll just turn this entire floor into some other jewel and find out!"

Suddenly, a silver blob splashed up behind her and reshaped itself into a solid silver Joey. Before Meg could react, he grabbed her hand and held it firmly against her side. She suddenly froze as the side of her body slowly started turning into blue topaz. She tried to pull her arm away, but it, too, had been transformed and held fast.

"NO!" she screamed out.

"Ey, you like gem stones a lot, so it shouldn't be so bad to actually be one," Joey shrugged.

Meg snarled and rose up her free hand. Suddenly, the golden walls transformed into mere clay which, under the weight of the diamond roof, started crumbling down into pieces. Then, the shattered windows around the place which let in the only source of light were covered up by black onyx, leaving the place in total darkness.

"Oh man, we gotta get outta here!" Joey yelled out as he heard the clay walls starting to crack under the pressure.

"Where the heck is the exit?" Tristan cried.

Suddenly, out of the darkness two yellow lights shone through.

"Serenity? Is dat you again?" Joey asked.

The yellow lights bobbed up and down, as if Serenity was nodding in affirmation. "I can see through the darkness! Everyone, quick, follow my eyes!"

The lights moved through the darkness. Cautiously, the other teens started following them, jumping whenever they heard a piece of the diamond roof crash down beside them.

Finally, the sound of a door squeaking pierced through the sounds of the crumbling and light shone through a crack in the darkness. The teens quickly dashed through the opening and as far away from the factory as they could.

Once they were far enough, the heroes turned around and watched as the entire factory crumbled down into pieces, bringing up huge clouds of dust and dirt. When it cleared, the place was revealed to be in shambles. The teens caught a glimpse of a blue topaz hand sticking out of the rubble, but it soon transformed into mere dust, as did the diamond roof, the silver floor, and the rest of the gem stones which had once been Meg's treasures.


	7. Epilogue: The Four Visions

Epilogue: The Four Visions

The next day, Joey and Serenity sat on a bench on the platform in Domino Station. After the calamity had taken place last night, Joey had taken Serenity back to his place so that she could finally get some rest. Now this morning, all too soon, it was time for her to go back home.

"So, sis…are you gonna be all right back home?" Joey asked.

"You mean with hiding my powers and using them for the greater good?" Serenity replied. "I think I'll be okay. I named them, by the way; they're now my 'visions'. My red eyes are my 'laser vision', my yellow ones are my 'nighttime vision', my green ones are my 'x-ray vision', and my blue ones are my 'tele-vision'!"

Joey laughed at the last name. "Well, just remember," he said, putting one arm around her, "if ya ever need someone ta talk to about your adventures and stuff, I'll always be available. You won't hafta be totally alone wit dis."

Serenity smiled. "Thanks, bro."

Just then, the train pulled up into the station and its doors opened. Serenity stood up and said, "Well, I guess it's time for me to go."

As she ran towards the train, Joey called back after her, "Wait, sis, dere's one more ting."

Serenity stopped and looked back at him. "Yes?"

"Be careful."

She nodded. "I will, Joey, I will."

Serenity jumped up into the train; a few moments later, she appeared in one of the windows. As the doors shut and the train started pulling away, she pulled the window down a little bit and waved her hand out at Joey. "Bye, Joey!" she called.

"See ya, Serenity!" he said, waving back to her.

Joey kept waving until the train was finally out of sight. He put his hand down and smiled. _Good luck to you, sis,_ he thought.

As he walked off the platform and down the stairs of the station, a motorcycle suddenly zoomed up in front of the bottom step. The cyclist got off and removed his helmet, revealing himself to be Tristan.

He looked up at Joey and glared. "Where's Serenity?" he asked.

"She's gone," Joey replied.

"Hmm," Tristan said. "Well, it's funny, because I'd been all set to come here today to tell her goodbye when my motorcycle suddenly stalled out on me and I couldn't get it to start until ten minutes ago." He glared angrily. "Strange how it worked out that way, isn't it?"

"Yep, very strange," Joey agreed. "Almost like magic."


End file.
